Growth
Oh... and speaking of people moving into new roles. A few weeks ago we did a "total worship night". It was very awesome, and because of the length and the number of songs we had to do, it gave some people oppurtunities that they hadn't had before. In addition, because some members of the team wanted to worship in the congregation, we didn't play with the full set of people every song. Instead, people would come up for a while (maybe just when they were leading), and then go back "into the crowd" for a while. And it all flowed extremely well. In many regards it showed the maturity of the team overall, and how comfortable they are getting with eachother. Everyone did very well and a few people lead who usually don't.

• Nathan lead a song (first time he has sung) w/o playing an instrument. A very different role for him, and he did really well.
  
• Jaime lead, I Could Sing of Your Love, which she has done a few times now
  
• Ricky lead a song, which he has lead a few times
  
• Donovan lead a song (which he has never done) - that he WROTE. It was awesome

It was very cool watching these guys (and girls) step out in new things, and just do what God is leading them to do. Not eveything was perfect... but that isn't the point. The point is they felt lead, they did it,and it went off very well. And as they overcome their fear, anxieties, etc. and get more and more comfortable with what God is asking them to do, they'll continue to grow and get better and more mature. Like I keep saying, it is an awesome thing to see.

These guys are not waiting to become "adults" to effect the kingdom of God. They are seeking out their calling, experiencing it, and moving in the ministry that God has called them to... and they are affecting His children now. Its a great thing.
posted by James at 9:48 AM

Last night
I can't wait to hear from Jaime about last night. We are in Tulsa for a pastor's conference, so I wasn't able to go to Fusion last night. Last night was Jaime's first time playing keys for Fusion... wish I could have been there. I'm excited to hear how it went... I know she will have done great.

Staci dropped off the team due to family committments. This is fine and one of the situations you have to deal with in any worship team, not just youth teams. People's direction changes, they get called into other things, their family situations change, etc. One thing about our ministry is that we want youth to be able to experience something and see if they are called. If not, that is cool. So..., it was great having Staci on the team, but she feels it is time for a change, and that is cool too. We were very blessed by the time she served with us.

And now that we no longer have a keyboard player, God is opening an oppurtunity for others. Both Jaime and Erika have played piano for a number of years and have great hearts of worship. And both of them have expressed an interest in playing keys on the worship team. I'm really looking forward to see what God does with both of them as they move into this new role. Our plan is to rotate them, and hopefully allow them to play and sing. (I think both of them have discussed just playing at first, until they get comfortable enough to do both). In any case, this is a cool new chapter!

Like I said, can't wait to call Jaime and see how it went!
posted by James at 9:40 AM

Teams
As discussed in the previous note, we now have multiple teams. I don't know all the team members at this point, as the teams are still in the process of being formed. But here are the teams, along with the leaders for each of those teams. As this gets ironed out, I'll update the static page with the members, etc.

• Fusion - Bobby Chavez
  
• SHOC - Bobby Chavez
  
• The Ark - Michael Child
  
• Children's Church - Becky Jorgensen
  
• Fuel - Michael Child : This team is in very preliminary stages

posted by James at 9:32 AM

Update
Been thinking about the Fusion Worship Ministry, quite a bit. Not just a worship team, or the "youth band", but really the concept of "Fusion Worship Ministry"... Its more than just the music, it is youth, being involved in various worship teams and ministring via worship.

The team has come a long way, in a short period of time. It is a testament to what youth can do, when they are given the chance. The "music department" (or whatever you want to call it) pretty much started out as two things. A youth band and youth cd teams. The idea was to have an adult in charge (me) for accountability, logistics, mentoring, etc., but let the youth do as much as possible. Let them do the ministry... not just get ministered too. There are soo many reasons this is a good thing. (I won't go into all of them now). Having the youth ministry be youth lead is what Fuel/Fusion is all about. A little over a year after I started in this position, it is time to take stock of where we are at.

As I said, we started with a band and CD teams. The CD teams were pretty experienced and had been around for some time. Last Oct we formed new teams (giving some new people chances to lead). The band started a little over a year ago, and were playing every few months, then once a month, and lately at least twice a month. Pastor Rick and I have been thinking and discussing whether the band should play every service. There are advantages and disadvantages to this... but one of the main ones is it means that we'd no longer have the CD teams. But this is something I've been praying and thinking about for some time.

Are the CD teams really fullfilling their intended role? Mainly, giving more youth the oppurtunity to serve in a worship team position, learn to lead worship, flow with the Holy Ghost, etc. I have come to believe that they are not. The main reason being, with the emergence of the band and all the other things going on (prayer retreats, special events, etc.), in a 5 month period each team has played once. That is not enough time for them to really feel like they are serving, etc. So, it is not meeting the need.

At the same time, a central theme of the ministry has been "youth lead". Also, we (fusion worship) has been branching out in other areas... mainly Children's Church and The Ark. However, unlike the Fusion band, the worship teams for Children's Church and The Ark are adult lead.

Given the need for oppurtunities for more youth to be involved in worship, and the fact that we have two worship teams that are not youth lead, the solution was obvious! Make all the Fusion Worship Teams youth lead! Not only will this get more youth involved (the primary need), but it will also give a few youth the oppurtunity to serve in not only a worship leader position... but actually a worship minister. What I mean by that, is not only would they serve in some "lead" position during worship... but the team would actually be theirs. They would staff it, interact with the primary leader of whatever ministry they are serving under, handle schedules, practices, etc. The whole ball of wax. This gives them an oppurtunity to experience the responsibilities and also grow the ministry as they see fit. With some guidence. This is an awesome oppurtunity!

So... as we start the 2nd year of the Fusion Worship Ministries, here is where we are at. We now have a worship band that ministers at the weekly service, but a subset of that team that does a 2 hour worship/prayer night (SHOC) once a month. We also have a two other worship teams that are youth run, one ministering at Children's Church once a month, and aother that ministers at The Ark at least once a month and sometimes twice. In addition to that, we are thinking about starting a Fuel Worship Team, that would be staffed with younger teens, and lead by one of the members of the Fusion Band.

While in some respects this has seemed to grow rather slowly, this is quite a bit of increase for one year. And it is just awesome to watch! A lot of the youth have really stepped forward over the last year. People have shown their integrity and committment, and have grown and moved into areas that initially wouldn't have seemed possible. Given the oppurtunity, they have really shown what they are made of, and I'm proud of every one of them!

Its going to be exciting to see what God does with the ministry as we continue to grow, and what God is going to do with each of them personally, as they physically mature and as they mature in him. Working with the youth is such an awesome thing!
posted by James at 9:16 AM